Category Archives: Women

It is only after thoroughly analyzing the part that any conclusions about Jezebel can be drawn. It is clear that Nick Denton’s vision for Gawker media run’s through Jezebel’s core. It is a magazine that knows its audience, and knows how to attract them. It does this through selective content, which parallels and aggregates other popular forms. It is part celebrity blog, part fashion blog, part feminist blog, and draws upon the appealing and crucial elements of all of them. It also draws upon a rich history of women’s media, which blossomed creatively in an era of oppression. Jezebel is a new form of women’s media; in a new media for a savvier, and more well educated audience then some other forms of women’s media. This helps account for its differences, but acknowledges its similarities. Jezebel defines itself by its critical voice, an inheritance from its older brother, Gawker.com. Even though Jezebel is “for women,” it has many similarities to Gawker. Throughout the blog, examples from Gawker that made pieces of Jezebel more salient, such as the idea of timeliness and Gawker’s transparency about its use of videos to draw attention. Jezebel is framed by the taboo-ness of its name, which projects the type of image they want to craft.

While the issue of Jezebel’s feminism is inconclusive, it is undeniable the feminist strains it has. This is especially evident in its coverage of both personal stories and political/social narratives. However, it draws a closer comparison to other forms of digital media with its fashion and celebrity coverage. The cute videos are an Internet staple, and as the science shows, are guaranteed to draw interest.

Jezebel is the snarky girl in the friend group who eggs others on from the back corner. She knows when to calm down enough to be liked, and occasionally causes a stir. After all Jezebel has been the part of national news and critiques, such as with the Redbook corner. But for the most part she just cleverly spars, talking over the television so that her commentary becomes a part of what the reader/watcher sees.

After breaking down the pieces of Jezebel, it is still hard to draw full conclusions about how it is a women’s blog. One of the unclear pieces is if Jezebel fits inside the category of a feminist blog. There are many undeniable parallels in goals and content. However, where Jezebel falls short is it full commitment to political activism. In her piece analyzing Feministing, Moswel discusses the activism built into the site. (2008) However, in Jezebel, the topics are too varied to really stir activism, but err more on the side of social critique. Jezebel writers are the armchair anthropologists of the digital age, sitting on chairs and jotting down notes on what they observe and hypothesize. To truly be feminist, Jezebel would need to push beyond just observance to ask readers how they are going to take action against what has been elucidated by the writers of Jezebel. In a similar way, Jezebel tries so hard to critique the magazine industry in their manifesto. Yet, with Nick Denton’s goals of creating the pixilated Conde Nast, they cannot help but fall into many of the same patterns. The rhetoric penned by inaugural editor Anna North has cooled. In an interview with Madame Nior, popular current (and newer) writer Dodai Stewart reacts strangely, and almost in a coached fashion to this very question about magazine disapproval.

“Jezebel is not anti-magazine, we are anti-cover lies, anti-unrealistic Photoshop and anti-exclusionary content — whether it be targeting only white people, only thin people or only rich people. Personally, I love print…. But many mainstream ladymags are disappointing.”

But for as much of a fight that Jezebel puts against mainstream magazines, its content falls into many of the same patterns. There is the celebrity gossip, the analysis of who wore what, splashed with human-interest pieces. What sets Jezebel apart is its acidic tongue, but even that seems to fall short of really piercing celebrity culture. Of course, Jezebel has made it clear that they do not deal in cruelty, Holmes pointing out in interviews that they never mention weight. (Johnson 2007) Really, in these areas they are treading into worn territory. Perhaps this is because their manifesto and begging was so focused on the fashion piece, that they forgot to really establish their goals for the rest, and fell fumbling into patterns of puppies and dresses.

However, this so far may be selling Jezebel short. One area they excel in is their attention to women’s issue. They have exhaustive coverage of LGBT issues, sexual health, reproductive rights and more. However, none of this coverage comes with the real impetuous towards change, only the passive resignation.

Squee! Aww! These are the types of labels that Jezebel uses to describe is cutest content. Videos of hugging baby sloths, excited puppies and leaping lambs make a regular occurrence on the site. Generally, these are embedded YouTube or Vimeo videos, not content produced by Jezebel. Instead, Jezebel finds these treasures, and presents them with comments about how the video will brighten anyone’s day or the desire to adopt whatever creature is present.

This type of content is not even tangentially related to the manifesto of creating Jezebel as a reaction against the magazine industry. There is no social criticism in a Great Dane whose paws are two big to help him on a slippery floor. This is Jezebel’s added category to target to women: cute videos. Its power to attract and appeal to readership is scientifically proven.

If it seems like no one can resist the sweet face of an infant, it is because chemically they cannot. This clip from the Today show discusses an Oxford experiment, which measured brain waves. (Today Show 2012) When looking at babies, there is a visible spike in activity in the pleasure centers of the brain. It is speculated that this is because of the appeal of large vulnerable eyes and the round head of human infants. (Maestripieri 2004) Since these proportions are replicated in the animal kingdom, people are also attracted to the young of most species.(Maestripieri 2004) This can even be extended to inanimate objects that take on these same visible characteristics. (Maestripieri 2004)

The growth of “Cute” culture has only been augmented by the growth of YouTube. Anybody can post a video of a small cute accordance in his or her life, and if it picks up it can go viral. A viral video can have millions of hits. A 16 second video of a baby panda sneezing and scaring its mother has reached 134,967,592 views on YouTube. From this is it clear to see why embedding these type of videos would be profitable. At Gawker.com, the new editor recently put in place an experiment to drive people to the pages using links to these type of highly clickable stories such as a post about the “Ten Cutest Babies and Farts.” (Phelps 2012) For two weeks, each day a Gawker writer would be assigned the work of posting whatever videos they think would drive traffic to the site. (Daulerio 2012) In a twist, this was actually to give Gawker writers more time to spend on original content, getting the needed page views through the popular cute/interesting videos to sustain the real media content. (Phelps 2012) While Jezebel is not explicit or transparent as the Gawker experiment they are providing women with content that they want to see, adding to their original content. For now, the squees and awws balance out the heavier material on Jezebel, and provide excellent videos for engage with others

Instead of direct retellings of sex stories, many of the posts in the “sex” category on Jezebel detail issues of women’s health and equality, especially how it relates to sex. This creates a segment of the blog that is more sexual/political, aimed at advocacy and change. Stories like this one, both a story of a women’s encounter with rapist and a cautionary tale about digital privacy bridge the gap between the more explicitly sexual and the political. There are also segments about the ongoing debates about abortion (Pill Baby Pill) and abortion (Roe v. World)

With their coverage of women’s issues, Jezebel is engaging in the power of blogs for potential political and social change. For Jezebel, different political issues, especially those related to women are monitored. There is detailed coverage of recent issues of abortion and birth control. Recently, Jezebel posted about the “Top Scariest Places to Have Ladyparts In America,” which detailed the different anti-female laws around the country.

This links with the recent trend within the Feminist community of blogging about women’s issues with the intention of raising awareness and making change. While Jezebel may not be explicitly feminist, it does cover issues that fall under concerns of third wave feminists (Mowles 2008: 31). Third wave feminism, like Jezebel is not a cohesive unit, but a compilation of parts around a set of ideologies (Mowles 2008: 31). One of the first blogs to blend feminism and attention to women’s health issues was Feministing. Founded by Jessica Valenti in 2004, Feminsiting promised, “to be a platform for us [young women] to comment, analyze, and influence” (Mowles 2008: 33)

Mowles’s analysis of Feminsiting and the potential impact of Feminist blog describe many of the same characteristics present in Jezebel. Feministing was created in 2004, three years earlier then Jezebel, in the height of George Bush’s “War on Women” (Mowles 2008: 32). For both sites, there is a definite focus on women’s issues. However, “the content of the [blogs ranges] from media analysis, to political commentary, to frustrated rants about pop culture. Posts address diverse topics in an engaging and witty way” (Mowles 2008: 38).

Part of the sexual/political focus of the women’s issues on blogs is the intersection of different forms of oppression (Mowles: 2008 36) On Jezebel, African American writer Dodai Stewart often discusses the specific issues facing women of color. In an interview with Madame Nior, a “black women’s lifestyle magazine” Stewart explicated on the role of her gender and race in her writing. Stewart explains she “could never write from the vantage point of “black people are like this.” I try to write with honesty, from my personal perspective, which is as a woman of color” (Stodghill 2011). With the recent show Girls, which has been hailed as speaking for the generation much of Jezebel’s readership falls into, Jezebel writers has critiqued the absence of minorities in the show which purports to capture a universal experience (Stewart 2012).

Of course, through all of this coverage, these women’s issues, ranging from pregnancy to the difficulties of finding love in the modern era are all treated with the signature Jezebel snark. Jezebel has expanded the meaning of sex in the tagline to mean “sexuality” and has focused on many issues that push it further into the realm of feminism.

In addition to critiquing and altering its form, like discussed in the previous post, there has been a long history of the keeping of female’s body issues and sexual desires under wraps. However, new digital media, like Jezebel, are providing an outlet for these sexualized discussions. All of these different blogs promote a greater understanding and dialogue about women’s health and issues that have been traditionally taboo, from birth control, abortion to sexual desires and experience.

For sex blogs, it is often described that the Internet as one of true place that a woman can express her sexual wants and desires (Muise 2011: 416). Most of the dialogue on women and sexual desires is very heteronormative, and rests on the cultural standards that women should not talk about wanting or liking sex (Muise 2011:412). However, this is changing increasingly as culture becomes more sexualized and dialogue about women’s issues increased in media (Attwood 2009:7) These blogs are more “masculine” and “aggressive” as “they resist the sexual passivity that characterizes traditional feminine discourses” (Muise 2011: 416). Many of the blogs about women and sex on the internet are written in a single narrative format, and include accounts heteronormative to the point where many think they are written by men (Attwood 2009: 8). This is because socially these women are seen as writing male fantasies, and it is easier to imaging these pieces being male originating them imaging that females would express their feelings in such a way (Muise 2011: 412). The “entitlement to sexual pleasure” expressed in these blogs is “ consistent with a masculine version of sexuality” (Muise 2011: 414)

While there are some of these more personal account of sexual activity on Jezebel, there is less of an emphasis on personal encounters. In a female targeted equivalent to the NCAA tournament, Jezebel held a “March Madness” bracket to compare chocolate to sex, with different types of chocolate and different sex positions as the competitors (Missionary Sex won over Brownies in the final round) At first, this aspect of Jezebel was more prominent, especially earlier in the site with very sexually open writer Tracy Egan who posts under the pseudonym Slut Machine. Egan posted details about her sex life. This sexual content reached its full saturation at the time of the “Thinking and Drinking” incident, (which is described more here) when Egan and Moe Tkacik gave a very sexually charged speech, and said many things that people deemed highly offensive (Wazyn 2010: 11). During the event, which was ticketed and live-streamed, they demeaned rape victims (Egan: I think the reason I haven’t been raped, is cause I’m like smart) and downplayed the importance of safe sex (Tkacik: “Pulling out always works for me,” Egan: “ And I know this is irresponsible to say, it’s the most fun way not to get pregnant”(Wayzn 2010:12).

More recently, the sexual nature of Jezebel has been toned down. Egan, who now has a toddler, is more prone to write posts like this one about motherhood, on “How I Went from Being a Heartless Bitch to a Sappy Cry-Baby” (Egan 2012) There are still pccasionally personal accounts of sexual tales (such as this women who sold her underwear online to people with fetishes) However, looking at the bottom of these posts show that many of them have been aggregated from around the internet, originally sourced to other blogs. The “sex” in Jezebel still has some element of actual sexual encounters, but has evolved beyond the smaller scale personal blogs.

Tied with the coverage of celebrities is the coverage of fashion on Jezebel. Its manifesto declared Jezebel as an alternate to the fashion-heavy women’s magazine industry set Jezebel up to be a critique of fashion. However, looking at the fashion tag shows that this has mostly devolved to reviews: the fashion industry, celebrity fashion and products by Jezebel writers.

Fashion blogging has become a major factor in the industry. While at first, fashion was resistant to embrace social media, companies themselves are now using it in addition to acknowledging the influence of independent fashion bloggers.( Amed 2011) An article for Women’s Wear Daily‘s website explains that there are two million fashion and shopping focused blogs, many with linked to similar products available for purchase embedded in their site (Cochoran 2006). The influence of digital fashion critiques is forcing fashion institutions to change, and involve a more democratic process of inclusion (Cochocran 2006). While fashion was once a “dictatorship” the growth of the fashion blog, and its critiques of the fashion world have forced a type of transparency on the industry, forcing them to involve regular citizens in their decision (Cochoran 2006). Industry giant/PR Rep Kelly Cutrone commented to the New York Times that “Do I think, as a publicist, that I now have to have my eye on some kid who’s writing a blog in Oklahoma as much as I do on an editor from Vogue? Absolutely. Because once they write something on the Internet, it’s never coming down. And it’s the first thing a designer is going to see. (Wilson 2009)

This change is infiltrating long-standing bastions of the fashion industry. Wilson’s 2009 New York Times article about the changes in the industry noted that “Jezebel.com (a saucy blog that includes coverage of fashion) shot ahead of Style.com (the Condé Nast fashion site) for the first time this fall with more than a half-million visitors” (Wilson 2009).The attention given to a wider variety of designers, such as the detailing in Jezebel’s “Rag Trade.”

Similar to “Dirt Bag,” but focused on the fashion industry, “Rag Trade” reflects both caused the increased humanization and celebrity of industry giants, and increased the name and coverage of smaller scale designers. These changes, wrought by Jezebel and other online fashion blogs have caused a more macro examination and restructuring of the industry. A recent story on Jezebel discussed changes in America’s Next Top Model, a show that has long been merging the world of fashion with the American people. (Stewart 2012) Tyra Banks, show star/producer has fired long standing judges and creative director, to take the show in a more digital/ online directions. (Stewart 2012) She is currently courting BryanBoy, one of the most popular fashion bloggers to become a part of the show. (Stewart 2012) Bryanboy is so influential that in 2008, Marc Jacobs named a purse in his collection after the blogger. (Wilson 2009)

In “Rag Trade” Jezebel also covers the gossip of the industry, mentioning not just the design changes but inner lives of the designers. Social media has become a major player in perpetuating rumors about the fashion industry. (Amed 2011)This reflects the trends of celebrity gossip, but extended to the names of the fashion industry. What is interesting to note about this section is that it differs from the others in that it assumes baseline knowledge of the players in the fashion industry, and does not just draw upon popular culture, like “Dirt Bag.”

Another element that reflects celebrity trends is Jezebel’s coverage of celebrity fashion at red carpet events in a feature called “Good/Bad/Ugly.” In this feature, pictures of celebrity outfits at red carpet events are shown, with commentary. This dissection of celebrity fashion is a part of the fashion blogging trend, which magazines have had difficulty adjusting to. (Wilson 2009) The analysis of celebrity fashion can have multiple functions. In Feasy’s study of heatreaders (talked about more in this post) the women described why they enjoyed the fashion section of the magazine.( Feasy 2009: 693-696) For some, they liked both the inspiration of the style, but also the confidence it gave them to try off new styles after feeling validated by seeing a certain look on a celebrity. (Feasy 2009: 694) Most magazines have launched digital components, which readers enjoy due to their interactive and search features, which allow them to tailor the content the consume. (Inghanm and Weadon 2008: 218These online pieces are able to be more in depth then the virtual pieces. (Ingham and Weadon 2008:217)

The fashion industry is being changed by social media, but is still managing to maintain its gendered identity. Fashion blogs merge the celebrity, gossip and fashion elements, whether fashion is the main focus or one element of a larger site.

Popular wisdom and Yahoo Ask! User theone78 maintain that gossip is inherent to women, something inherent. Curious user honeybee posted on Yahoo’s general forum for knowledge asking “ Why do women love to talk & gossip? I’m one of them so no judging here.” The answer she received from theone78, whose self-stated source is an “Associate Degree—In Social Behavior Science” was not an unheard of.

“ It’s the way you girls are made…more social and emotional!! …. It has more to do with out genetic structure/makeup of survival. Gossiping however is not being to control your tongue which BTW takes discipline.” (theone78) This prominent perception (whether or not the somewhat dubious science checks out) has lead for the industry of celebrity gossip to become immensely popular.

Gossip has been a widely researched subject, and “ the sheer bulk of five centuries commentary on gossip suggests a phenomenon worth taking seriously (Spacks 1985: 26) Most of this discussion of gossip has been decidedly negative, with potentially positive elements being acknowledged rarely. (Spacks 1985: 26) There are ethical questions inherent in gossip relating to its position on the “borderline” between public and private (Spacks 1985: 262; Podneicks 2008: 56). It is clear that sites like Jezebel push this line, forcing private information of celebrities and even self selecting contributors into a more public forum. Like the snarky attitude of Jezebel, gossip draws heavily upon humor. (Podniecks 2008:57) Gossiping is a performance, meant to create a reaction, whether of amusement or disgust, from the audience. (Podneicks 2008: 57). When it is “framed by humor gossip ‘rises above its pettiness and viciousness’ and is redemptive” (Podneicks 2008: 57).

While gossip was in previous era was limited to the exchange of information about personal acquaintances, celebrity gossip has supplanted that. (Feasy 2008:693) This is a relatively new phenomenon, and has been shaped by and defined a new definition of celebrity. From Louella Parsons, the first gossip columnist to todays gossip blogs, the discipline has changed (Fairclough 2008) The growth of celebrity has given a consequence free way to share information about others, a process which gains the sharer social capital (Feasy 2008: 690). Since it does not involve personal acquaintances, gossip is not as problematic (Feasy 2008: 690). Initially, the idea of nationally knows stars came to fruition with the era of the powerful movie studios (Fairclough 2008). Monolithic, the studios were able to control the images of stars with a heavy hand (Fairclough 2008). However, the invention of the zoom lens changed that (Fairclough 2008). Salacious pictures of Elizabeth Taylor’s extramarital affair caught from a distance breeched a new form of celebrity information(Podnieks 2009: 56). Now, any aspect of a celebrity’s life, especially their faults and private shames, were fair game (Podnieks 2009: 56). Having a taste of something more, people were not longer satiated by the static stupid images (Podniek 2009: 56).

Feasy’s 2008 study group of readers of heat, a British gossip magazine, revealed that the consumption of celebrity gossip is not the sole voyeurism traditionally associated with it. In fact, women like to read the information for the main purpose of sharing it with others (Feasy 2008: 693). Knowing this information gives people a desirable expertise. It allows them to share it with others to create a sense of community. There is also a desirability to be the first to obtain this information, expressed by Feasy’s study participants (Feasy 2008:691). While this is not reflected on Jezebel itself, this desire for primacy is the meaning of Gawker.com’s tagline “Tomorrows News. Today.” There is a certain appeal to be the first of a social group to know something, to even, as Gawker suggests, be a whole day ahead.

Additionally, the presentation of celebrity flaws and personal news creates what Feasy identifies as a double edged sword (Feasy 2008: 696) Women feel validated for the own imperfections, comforted by the normalcy of celebrities. (Feasy 2008: 695) However, women also feel a sense of guilt for intruding and pointing out people’s weaker moments, even if they are in the public eye (Feasy 2008:696) The popularity and social benefits of celebrity gossip have embedded it in popular culture. With the digital age, celebrity blogging has grown. Check out the next post for more on that!

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About this Blog

We all consume various media. But what influences the content presented on the platform? This blog is an ongoing project for a class on Sexuality and Social Media. Each post will discuss an aspect of Jezebel.com, the popular website, targeted to women. For more information, check out the first post!
Check out my twitter: @mollyohgolly